Title
Altair 680b
Catalog Number
X679.86
Type
Physical object
Description
The Altair 680b was developed after the original 8800. The Altair 8800 kit was introduced as the cover story on the January 1975 edition of Popular Electronics. Though 'home-brew' experimental systems exsisted well before the Altair, none had the Altair's wide-reaching popularity. Word length: 8 bits. CPU Circuitry: Intel 8080. Prymary Memory: 256 Bytes. Price: $ 397. The Altair inspired Bill Gates, then at Harvard University, to write a BASIC assembler so that users could easily program the machine. This was the start of Microsoft. MITS was sold to Pertec and the Altair line did not last long.
Date
1976
Manufacturer
Micro Instrumentation Telemetry Systems (MITS)
Place Manufactured
U.S.
Identifying Numbers
Model number |
680b |
Serial number |
C10518 |
Dimensions
5 x 11 x 11 in.
Category
Digital computer/personal computer/desktop
Credit
Gift of James Post